As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is Information Handling Systems (IHSs). An IHS generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, IHSs may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in IHSs allow for IHSs to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, IHSs may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
In modern applications, IHSs may be used to produce virtual, augmented, or mixed reality (xR) applications. The goal of virtual reality (VR) is to immerse users in virtual environments. A conventional VR device obscures a user's real-world surroundings, such that only digitally-generated images remain visible via a display of an HMD that may be worn by a user in similar manner to a pair of goggles.
In contrast, augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) operate by overlaying digitally-generated content or entities (e.g., characters, text, hyperlinks, images, graphics, etc.) upon the user's real-world, physical surroundings. A typical AR/MR device includes a projection-based optical system that displays content on a translucent or transparent surface of an HMD, heads-up display (HUD), eyeglasses, or the like (collectively “HMDs”).
In some implementations, HMDs may be tethered to an external or host IHS. Most HMDs do not have as much processing capability as the host IHS, so the host IHS may be used to generate some or all of the digital images that are displayed by the HMD. The HMD transmits information to the host IHS regarding the state of the user, which in turn enables the host IHS to determine which image or frame to show to the user next, and from which perspective, as the user moves in space.
An HMD allows a single user to participate in an xR session that is provided by a host IHS coupled to the HMD. In addition, HMDs may also allow multiple users to collaborate within a shared xR session. In certain of such scenarios, one or more of these users participating within an xR session may be located within the same room, such as a conference room or other meeting area. During an xR session, some users may leave the xR session and other users may join the ongoing xR session. Each of the users that participate in a co-located, collaborative xR session may utilized a different variety of HMD with different operational capabilities.